The Lord knew that in time, Israel would want a king. Therefore, He told them hundreds of years before, the conditions for the king,

“When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself” (Deuteronomy 17.14–17).

The Lord made it clear that a king over Israel:

Had to be a man whom the Lord God chose
Had to be from among the Israelites
Could not be a foreigner, but had to be a brother
Could not multiply horses for himself
Could not cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses
Could not multiply wives for himself

Then the Lord gave one more condition, which we will cover next year, Lord willing, and the last condition was so important that He spoke many words about it. Read ahead to see what the last condition was.